Hepatitis C suspect could face 20 years to life
A Colorado Springs operating room technician with hepatitis C could face 20 years to life in prison if someone is seriously injured or dies as a result of her alleged swap of dirty needles for syringes full of powerful pain killers.
Federal Magistrate Craig B. Shaffer warned Kristen Diane Parker, 26, of the possible aggravated penalties Monday during her first appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver.
Wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, Parker nodded when asked if she understood the potential punishment if convicted.
Parker, a former scrub technician at hospitals in Denver and Colorado Springs, is accused of tampering with a consumer product, creating a counterfeit controlled substance and obtaining a controlled substance by deceit and subterfuge.
No one has died thus far, but officials at Rose Medical Center in Denver have confirmed that nine of their surgery patients contracted hepatitis C while Parker worked there from October 2008 to April 2009.
Parker's arrest prompted health officials to order screenings for some 4,700 patients who had surgery while she worked at Rose and another 1,000 who had surgery while she worked at Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs.
Federal authorities arrested Parker without incident on Friday. Shaffer ordered Parker held in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Denver District Attorney's office decided Monday not to file charges against Parker, deferring instead to the federal investigation, spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said.
Denver police arrested Parker June 30 on investigation of a drug possession charge after she allegedly confessed to swapping dirty needles containing a saline solution for clean syringes containing Fentanyl, a painkiller intended for major surgery patients.
Officials at Rose were aware that Parker had tested positive for hepatitis C prior to hiring her. They counseled her on the disease and on exposure possibilities.
A lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice said that the hospitals that employed Parker could be found liable for any negligence she committed while in their employ.
Lawyer Tony Viorst said Rose Medical Center could also be held liable for their decision to hire Parker.
"I think that a hospital is allowed to discriminate against a person with hepatitis C in the hiring process," Viorst said, especially for someone working in an operating room.
Audubon was unaware that Parker had tested positive for hepatitis C, having been asked by Parker not to jeopardize her employment by contacting Rose when she appplied at the Colorado Springs surgery center.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment discovered the hepatitis C outbreak through two separate investigations over a period of several months, said Dr. Ned Calonge, the state medical director.
The first investigation came after Rose reported to the state a "diversion" incident, in which a staff member is accused of diverting narcotics for unintended uses. The case was closed after Rose fired Parker and implemented new procedures for handling its narcotics.
In April, two cases of hepatitis C were reported to the health department, and state disease investigators discovered both patients had been at Rose. It would not be unusual for two cases of hepatitis C in a single facility, Calonge said, so health officials did not initially suspect a connection. But by comparing the state's list of people with hepatitis C against the surgical center's list in June, nine matches were eventually made.
Previous coverage:
Springs surgery tech suspected of exposing 5,700 to hepatitis C
Woman at heart of Hep-C probe convinced Springs center not to contact her employer
